Neuro Surgeon Amir Basha Paspala along with the 10-year-old
Khatija, her father Md. Sherrif and others on Saturday.

Hyderabad: A campaign to save a muzzein’s 10-year-old daughter from her deteriorating health condition, took just three hours to raise the required funds and put her on the recovery path.

Baby Khatija, daughter of Md.Sherrif, a muzzein of Masjid-e-Babar Uddin Shah in Nampally, had started complaining of extreme giddiness and was unable to stand or walk, in November 2018. Sheriff took her to a couple of hospitals and a battery of investigations suggested she had posterior Third Ventricular Arachnoid Cyst with Hydrocephalus i.e., a form of watery cyst in the brain with fluid build-up. The girl discontinued her studies as her condition deteriorated progressively and was bedridden, barely able to move or even eat.

With a meagre monthy earning of Rs 5,000, Sheriff could not raise the funds, which had to be to the tune of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh, for the treatment of his daughter and in desperation, approached city-based NGO Helping Hand Foundation.

“We launched a fundraiser campaign seeking Rs 2.50 lakh and with the support of donors, the required amount was mobilised in just three hours. The girl was operated the very next morning and discharged the same day,” Mujtaba Hasan Askari of Helping Hand Foundation said in a press release here.

Highlighting the complexity of the case, Dr. Amir Basha Paspala, the senior neurosurgeon who carried out the procedure, said Third Ventricular Cysts were typically located in the centre of the brain and were basically a water filled sac and extremely challenging to reach.

“We decided to opt for an endoscopic procedure and were able to reach the cyst through the endoscope with precision,” he said.

During the procedure, the inlet of the ‘Aqueduct’, a narrow passage that connects the 3rd and 4th ventricle of the brain was found to be obstructed with a membrane and using the same endoscope, the membrane was punctured, Dr. Paspala said.